System and method for providing time to cure negative balances in financial accounts while encouraging rapid curing of those balances to a positive net position

ABSTRACT

A computer implemented method and system for providing financial services are described. The system and method include determining an account balance for a financial account. If the account balance is negative, notice of the negative balance is sent to the account holder in real time. After a predetermined period of time or grace period, and/or by a predetermined end time or cut-off date or time, it is determined whether the negative balance was cured. If the negative balance was not cured during the grace period, an overdraft fee is assessed to the financial account. If the negative balance was cured during the grace period, any assessed overdraft fee for the negative balance is rebated or reversed.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/262,524 filed Sep. 12, 2016, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/316,402 filed on Jun. 26, 2014, now abandoned,which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/718,558filed on Dec. 18, 2012, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,781,955, which is acontinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/112,458 filed on May20, 2011, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,364,581, which claims the priority benefitof U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/346,629 filed on May 20,2010, the disclosures of which are each expressly incorporated herein intheir entireties by reference.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH

Not Applicable

PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT

Not Applicable

REFERENCE TO APPENDIX

Not Applicable

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The field of the present invention generally relates to financialservices and, more particularly, computer implemented methods andsystems for covering overdrafts and/or insufficient funds in financialaccounts.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

An overdraft occurs when a withdrawal from a bank or other financialinstitution account exceeds the available funds in the account. That is,the account has insufficient funds to cover the withdrawal. In the caseof withdrawals such as checks or ACH withdrawals, the account providercan return the withdrawal request as unpaid. In the case ofpreauthorized withdrawals such as ATM withdrawals and debit or checkcard withdrawals, however, the account provider must pay the withdrawalrequest when presented, even if the withdrawal causes an overdraft. Theaccount holder must then seek additional funds from the account holderto cover the overdraft and can charge the account holder overdraft feesas a penalty.

Traditionally, the manager of a bank or other financial institutionwould look at a list of overdrafts each day. If the manager saw that afavored customer had incurred an overdraft, they had the discretion topay the overdraft for the customer. Banks traditionally did not chargefor this ad-hoc coverage but it was fully discretionary. Thistraditional ad-hoc coverage has practically disappeared.

Account holders today can obtain overdraft protection plans. Anoverdraft protection plan is a contractual relationship in which theaccount provider promises to pay overdrafts up to a certain dollarlimit. These overdraft lines of credit are typically loans and accountholders typically charge a nominal fee per overdraft and also chargeinterest on the outstanding balance. Some account providers charge asmall monthly fee regardless of whether the line of credit is used.Overdraft protection can cover checks, ATM withdrawals, debit or checkcard withdrawals, electronic transfers, and the like. In the case ofnon-preauthorized items such as checks or ACH withdrawals, the overdraftprotection allows for these withdrawals to be paid as opposed to beingreturned unpaid or “bouncing”. However, not all account holders qualifyfor such loans.

Another form of protection available today is often referred to as“linked accounts” or “overdraft transfer protection”. For example, achecking account can be linked to another account, such as a savingsaccount, credit card account, or line of credit account. Once the linkis established, when a withdrawal is presented that would result in anoverdraft, funds are automatically transferred from the linked accountto the checking account in cover the overdraft. A nominal fee is usuallycharged for each overdraft transfer, and if the linked account is acredit card or other line of credit, the consumer may be required to payinterest under the terms of that account. However, not all accountholders have multiple accounts that can be linked.

A more recent product being offered by some banks and other financialinstitutions is often referred to as “bounce protection.” The bank maychoose to cover overdrawn items at their discretion and charge anoverdraft fee. As opposed to traditional ad-hoc coverage, this decisionto pay or not pay overdrawn items is largely automated and based onobjective criteria such as the customer's average balance, the overdrafthistory of the account, the number of accounts the customer holds withthe bank, and the length of time those accounts have been open. However,there is no explicit promise to pay any debit items into overdraft.Rather, this coverage is discretionary on the part of the financialinstitution. Financial institutions typically charge a one-time fee foreach overdraft paid. A financial institution may also charge a recurringdaily fee for each day during which the account has a negative balance.

While these overdraft protections may reduce the number of deniedrequests or “bounced checks” they can still result in large overdraftfees, interest, and the like and a perceived unfairness by customers.Additionally, the financial institution can be required to wait asubstantial period of time before payoff of the overdraft is received.This is particularly true for customers that may not be aware of theoverdraft until they receive their monthly statement. Accordingly, thereis a need for an improved system and method that reduces overdraft feesand/or insufficient funds fees, encourages rapid payoff of overdrafts,and provides perceived “fairness” to customers.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Disclosed are computer implemented methods and systems which address oneor more issues of the above described related art. Disclosed is acomputer-implemented method for performing financial services comprisingthe steps of electronically determining an account balance for afinancial account of a customer after receiving a transaction againstthe financial account which subtracts a monetary amount from thefinancial account, and if the account balance is negative as a result ofthe transaction, electronically sending a notice of the negative accountbalance to the customer. A further step comprises electronicallyassessing an overdraft fee to the financial account if the negativeaccount balance of the financial account is not cured within apredetermined period of time after determining the account balance isnegative.

Also disclosed is a financial management system comprising a computerreadable medium and at least one processor in communication with thecomputer readable medium. The computer readable medium and the at leastone processor are configured to electronically determine an accountbalance for a financial account of a customer after receiving atransaction against the financial account which subtracts a monetaryamount from the financial account, and if the account balance isnegative as a result of the transaction, electronically send a notice ofthe negative account balance to the customer. They are furtherconfigured to assess an overdraft fee to the financial account if thenegative account balance of the financial account is not cured during apredetermined period of time after determining the account balance isnegative.

Also disclosed is a computer-implemented method for performing financialservices comprising the steps of electronically determining an accountbalance for a financial account of a customer after receiving atransaction against the financial account which subtracts a monetaryamount from the financial account, and if the account balance isnegative as a result of the transaction, electronically sending a noticeof the negative account balance to the customer. A further stepcomprises rebating any assessed overdraft fee for the negative accountbalance to the financial account if the negative account balance of thefinancial account is cured during a predetermined period of time afterdetermining the account balance is negative.

Also disclosed is a financial management system comprising a computerreadable medium and at least one processor in communication with thecomputer readable medium. The computer readable medium and the at leastone processor are configured to electronically determine an accountbalance for a financial account of a customer after receiving atransaction against the financial account which subtracts a monetaryamount from the financial account, and if the account balance isnegative as a result of the transaction, electronically send a notice ofthe negative account balance to the customer. They are furtherconfigured to rebate any assessed overdraft fee for the negative accountbalance to the financial account if the negative account balance of thefinancial account is cured during the predetermined period of time afterdetermining the account balance is negative.

From the foregoing disclosure and the following more detaileddescription of various preferred embodiments it will be apparent tothose skilled in the art that the present invention provides asignificant advance in the technology and art of financial systems andmethods. Particularly significant in this regard is the potential theinvention affords for providing systems and methods which encourage therapid payment of overdrafts. Additional features and advantages ofvarious preferred embodiments will be better understood in view of thedetailed description provided below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and further features of the present invention will be apparentwith reference to the following description and drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a time line showing a method according to a first embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a system for carrying out the method ofFIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a time line showing a method according to a second embodimentof the present invention wherein customers have a twenty-four hourperiod of time to cure an overdraft balance.

FIG. 4 is another time line showing another aspect of the method FIG. 3wherein customers also have a twelve hour period of time to fund pendingtransactions.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF CERTAIN PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art, that is, to those whohave knowledge or experience in this area of technology, that many usesand design variations are possible for the improved systems and methodsdisclosed herein. The following detailed discussion of variousalternative and preferred embodiments will illustrate the generalprinciples of the invention. Other embodiments suitable for otherapplications will be apparent to those skilled in the art given thebenefit of this disclosure.

Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates a system and methodfor encouraging rapid coverage of insufficient funds in financialaccounts according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Whena customer of a financial institution makes a financial transaction,such as an ATM withdrawal, a debit or check card withdrawal, or the likethe financial account of the customer can either have enough funds tocover the transaction or can have less than the required funds to coverthe transaction. If the transaction requires more funds than isavailable in the financial account, the financial account has a negativebalance or is in an overdraft condition. In the illustrated embodiment,the customer makes a debit card purchase at 1 PM which is authorized for$25 when the customer's financial account already had a negative balanceof $23.

In response to the overdraft, the illustrated financial institutionsends an automated electronic transaction alert or notice of theoverdraft to the customer. The illustrated electronic transaction alertis sent in real time by automated text message to the customer's mobilephone or the like. The automated electronic transaction alert canadditionally or alternatively be sent by automated email to thecustomer's email address, automated voice message to the customer'sphone, or any other suitable means of real time automated electroniccommunication. The transaction alert notifies the customer that thereare insufficient funds in their financial account for the transactionthat just occurred, that is, that their account balance is currentlynegative. The transaction alert can additionally include furtherinformation such as, for example, specific identification of thetransaction that caused the insufficient funds condition, the amount ofthe insufficient funds, the deadline for covering the insufficient fundsto avoid an overdraft fee or penalty, the overdraft fee or penalty thatwill be assessed to the financial account if the insufficient funds arenot covered by the deadline, and/or any other suitable information.

The following is an exemplary automated electronic transaction alertthat can be sent the following the transaction: We're sending this emailbecause your account ending in XXXX was overdrawn today. here's the goodnews: because you're a XXXX customer you have a grace period which givesyou more time to make it right and avoid overdraft fee(s). To takeadvantage of this grace period just make a timely deposit today ortomorrow and you can avoid overdraft fees from yesterday's overdraft.Your deposit today or tomorrow must be enough so that your accountbalance at the end of tomorrow is not less than $0. We want to help youavoid the overdraft fee(s) for today's overdraft, so if you have anyquestions, please don't hesitate to talk to your banker by callingXXX-XXX-XXXX 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, or go online toXXXXXXXX.com.

Typically, an overdraft fee or penalty would be assessed to thecustomer's account if the overdraft condition was still present at theevening's normal pre-batch processing. Thus, the customer would need todeposit the needed funds to cure the insufficient funds to a branchbefore the close of business for the day or online before theonline-deposit cutoff for the day in order to avoid the overdraft fee orpenalty. However, according to the present invention, the customer isgiven a predetermined period of time or grace period to cover theinsufficient funds beyond the evening's normal processing time of thetransaction. The predetermined period of time or grace period can bedefined by either a length of time from a specific event (for example,length of time such as twelve or twenty-for hours after the time ofprocessing the transaction) and/or by a predetermined end time orcut-off date or time (for example, noon or midnight the next calendar orbusiness day). Preferably, the grace period extends at least into thenext day, that is, the next calendar day after the transaction occursand/or is processed, and more preferably extends at least into the nextbusiness day after the transaction occurs and/or is processed. The nextbusiness day is the next calendar day that the financial institution hasbranches open for business to receive deposits from the customer. In theillustrated, embodiment the customer is given a grace period of one dayor twenty four hours (from the processing time on the day of thetransaction until the processing time on the next calendar day) in orderto cover the insufficient funds. This grace period extends into the nextcalendar day after the transaction but could alternatively be one dayunless the next calendar day is not a business day and then the graceperiod is as many calendar days as necessary to give the customer atleast one business day. Thus, the customer can deposit the needed fundsto cure the insufficient funds to a branch before the close of businessthe following calendar day (if open for business) or online before theonline-deposit cutoff for the following day in order to avoid theoverdraft fee or penalty. It is noted that the grace period canalternatively be any other suitable period of time. For example, thegrace period could be shorter such as, for example, until noon the nextcalendar day, until a specific branch closes, until all branches close(2 to 5 PM) the next business day, until the online deposit cutoff, orthe like. Also for example, the grace period could be longer such as,for example, eighteen-hours, thirty-six hours, forty-eight hours, ormore or anything therebetween.

In the illustrated embodiment, the financial institution runs apre-batch process later that evening at 10 PM which identifies thecustomer's daily ending balance for their financial account. In responseto the overdraft which is still present at the pre-batch process, thefinancial institution sends an automated electronic pre-batch alert ornotice of the continued overdraft to the customer (or initial notice ofthe overdraft if a prior alert has not been sent). The illustratedautomated electronic pre-batch alert is sent in real time by automatedtext message to the customer's mobile phone or the like. The automatedelectronic pre-batch alert can additionally or alternatively be sent byautomated email to the customer's email address, automated voice messageto the customer's phone, or any other suitable means of automated realtime electronic communication. The automated electronic pre-batch alertnotifies the customer that there is insufficient funds in theirfinancial account at their daily ending balance, that is, that theiraccount balance is currently negative. The automated electronictransaction alert can additionally include further information such as,for example, specific identification of the transactions of the day thatcaused the insufficient funds, the amount of the insufficient funds, thedeadline for covering the insufficient funds to avoid an overdraft feeor penalty, the overdraft fee or penalty that will be assessed to thefinancial account if the insufficient funds are not covered by thedeadline, and/or any other suitable information. It is noted that theautomated electronic pre-batch alert would not be sent if a deposit wasmade to cover the insufficient funds prior to the pre-batch processingsuch that the customer's ending daily balance was not negative.Alternatively, the automated electronic pre-batch alert could still besent to notify the customer that the insufficient funds have beensuccessfully covered if a prior over daft alert was previously sent.

The following is an exemplary automated electronic pre-batch alert thatcan be sent at pre-batch processing if a transaction alert was alreadysent and the account remains overdrawn: We're sending this email becauseyour account ending in XXXX was overdrawn today and remains overdrawn.here's the good news: because you're a XXXX customer you have a graceperiod which gives you more time to make it right and avoid overdraftfee(s). To take advantage of this grace period just make a timelydeposit tomorrow and you can avoid overdraft fees from yesterday'soverdraft. Your deposit tomorrow must be enough so that your accountbalance at the end of tomorrow is not less than $0. We want to help youavoid the overdraft fee(s) for today's overdraft, so if you have anyquestions, please don't hesitate to talk to your banker by callingXXX-XXX-XXXX 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, or go online toXXXXXXXX.com.

In the illustrated embodiment, the financial institution runs normalbatch processing later that evening at Midnight. In response to theoverdraft which is still present at the batch processing, the financialinstitution sends an automated electronic batch alert or notice of thecontinued overdraft to the customer (or initial notice of the overdraftif a prior alert has not been sent). The illustrated automatedelectronic batch alert is sent at a predetermined time the next day,such as the next morning at 8:00 AM, by automated text message to thecustomer's mobile phone or the like. The automated electronic batchalert can additionally or alternatively be sent by automated email tothe customer's email address, automated voice message to the customer'sphone, or any other suitable means of automated real time electroniccommunication. The automated electronic batch alert indicates to thecustomer that there was insufficient funds in their financial account attheir daily ending balance, that is, that their account balance iscurrently negative. The automated electronic batch alert canadditionally include further information such as, for example, specificidentification of the transactions of the day that caused theinsufficient funds, the amount of the insufficient funds, the deadlinefor covering the insufficient funds to avoid an overdraft fee orpenalty, the overdraft fee or penalty that will be assessed to thefinancial account if the insufficient funds are not covered by thedeadline, and/or any other suitable information. It is noted that theautomated electronic batch alert would not be sent if for some reasonthe batch processing indicated that the customer's ending daily balancewas not negative. Alternatively, the automated electronic batch alertcould still be sent to indicate to the customer that the insufficientfunds have been successfully covered if a prior over draft alert waspreviously sent. It is noted that the automated electronic batch alertcan alternatively be sent in real time, this is particularlyadvantageous if a pre-batch alert is not sent.

The following is an exemplary automated electronic batch alert that canbe sent the morning following batch processing: We're sending this emailbecause your account ending in XXXX was overdrawn yesterday. here's thegood news: because you're a XXXX customer you have a grace period whichgives you more time to make it right and avoid overdraft fee(s). To takeadvantage of this grace period just make a timely deposit today and youcan avoid overdraft fees from yesterday's overdraft. Your deposit todaymust be enough so that your account balance starting tomorrow morning isnot less than $0. We want to help you avoid the overdraft fee(s) foryesterday's overdraft, so if you have any questions, please don'thesitate to talk to your banker by calling XXX-XXX-XXXX 24 hours a day,7 days a week, or go online to XXXXXXXX.com.

It is noted that if desired, one or more of the automated electronictransaction, pre-batch, and batch alerts can be eliminated within thescope of the present invention or other automated electronic alerts ornotices can be added within the scope of the invention. For example, themethod could include no automated electronic alerts or only oneautomated electronic alert such as, for example, an automated electronicalert sent the morning after the overdraft transaction. Preferably,customers have an option to enroll in one or more automated electronicalerts as desired by the customer. It is also noted that additional oralternative automated electronic alerts or notices can be sent tocustomers if desired at other suitable times within the scope of thepresent invention.

In the illustrated embodiment, the branch deposit cut-off or deadlinefor the financial institution is 2 to 5 PM the next day (depending onthe specific branch) and the online deposit cut-off or deadline for thefinancial institution is 10 PM. It is noted that these cutoffs ordeadlines can alternatively be any other suitable time depending on thefinancial institution. If the customer fails to make a deposit ordeposits by these deadlines such that daily ending balance for the nextcalendar day remains negative, the financial institution assess anoverdraft fee or penalty to the customer's financial account. However,if the customer makes a deposit or deposits by the deadlines such thatdaily ending balance for the next calendar day is not negative, thefinancial institution both assesses an overdraft fee or penalty to thefinancial account and rebates or reverses the overdraft fee or penaltyto the customer's financial account. Alternatively, the financialinstitution can waive the overdraft fee or penalty and not assess it tothe customer's financial account.

It is noted that in a variation of the above-described method, theoverdraft fee or penalty is assessed to the account at the end of thetransaction day as if there was not a grace period and is rebated orreversed if the insufficient funds are covered within the grace period.

The financial account is preferably provided the predetermined period oftime to cure the negative balance and the automated electronic alertswithout incurring additional costs. That is, the grace period and itsassociated alerts are provided to the customer by the financialinstitution as a free service without charging interest, a service fee,or the like for these services to the client's financial account. Wilethe financial institution may have reduced income from lost overdraftfees and the like, the illustrated method encourages rapid payoff ofoverdrafts and/or insufficient funds, and provides a sense of fairnessto customers.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary system for carrying-out the abovedescribed method which includes a computer system or server 100 of thefinancial institution which is in communication with customer's wiredand unwired computers 102 such a personal computers (PCs), laptopcomputers, notebook computers, tablet computers, handheld computers, andthe like via the Internet 106 or other suitable computer networks and/orthe Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) 108 or other suitabletelephone network. The computer system or server 100 of the financialinstitution is in communication with customer's wired and unwiredtelephones 104 and the like via the Internet 106 or other suitablecomputer networks and/or the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN)108 or other suitable telephone network. The computer system 100includes or is in communication with a database 110 or the like forstoring and retrieving customer information such as, for example, names,phone numbers, email addresses, and the like. The computer system 100 isin communication with the Automated Clearing House (ACH) 112 or the likevia a suitable network. The ACH is an electronic network for financialtransactions in the United States.

The computer system 100 is programmed with computer software to carryout the above-described method. the computer software is stored on acomputer-readable medium and is operable to: determine an accountbalance for a financial account of a customer and if the account balanceis negative, determine after a predetermined period of time whether thenegative balance of the financial account was cured. An overdraft fee isassessed to the financial account if the negative balance of thefinancial account was not cured during the predetermined period of time.The predetermined period of time is at least until the next day whichcan be the next calendar day or the next business. The predeterminedperiod of time is preferably at least twenty four hours. The computersoftware is operable to send an automated electronic notice of thenegative balance to the customer. The electronic notice(s) is/are sentin real-time at determining the account balance is negative, inreal-time at pre-batch ACH processing, real-time at batch ACHprocessing, and/or the morning of the next day after determining theaccount balance is negative.

FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate a system and method for encouraging rapidcoverage of insufficient funds in financial accounts according to asecond embodiment of the present invention. These embodiments aresubstantially the same as the first embodiment described above butpredetermined period of time or grace period before returning checks andACH debit transactions to the presenter so that the account holder canfund the transaction. That is, if an account holder writes a check orACH withdrawal and there is insufficient funds in their account for thetransaction and the financial institution chooses not to pay the iteminto overdraft, before returning the check to the presenter, thefinancial institution notifies the account holder with an automatedelectronic alert or notice and requests them to fund their accountwithin the predetermined period of time or grace period. If the accountholder timely funds their account for the transaction, the item will bepaid rather than returned to the presenter and the account holder is notcharged a non-sufficient funds (NSF) fee. If the account holder does nottimely fund the account for the transaction, the item is returned to thepresenter and the account holder is charged an NSF fee. In thisillustrated embodiment, the grace period for curing an overdraft istwenty-four hours from processing the transaction and the grace periodfor funding a pending transaction is twelve hours from the normalprocessing when the transaction is flagged for return. It is noted thatwhile these two illustrated grace periods are different periods of time,they can alternatively be the same period of time. It is also noted thateither of these grace periods can alternatively be any other suitablepredetermined periods of time.

Any of the features or attributes of the above the above describedembodiments and variations can be used in combination with any of theother features and attributes of the above described embodiments andvariations as desired.

It is apparent from the above detailed description of preferredembodiments of the present invention, that the present inventionencourages rapid payoff of overdrafts and/or insufficient funds, andprovides a sense of fairness to customers.

From the foregoing disclosure and detailed description of certainpreferred embodiments, it is also apparent that various modifications,additions and other alternative embodiments are possible withoutdeparting from the true scope and spirit of the present invention. Theembodiments discussed were chosen and described to provide the bestillustration of the principles of the present invention and itspractical application to thereby enable one of ordinary skill in the artto utilize the invention in various embodiments and with variousmodifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. All suchmodifications and variations are within the scope of the presentinvention as determined by the appended claims when interpreted inaccordance with the benefit to which they are fairly, legally, andequitably entitled.

What is claimed is:
 1. An information security computing machine forsecurely communicating transaction information comprising: at least oneprocessor; a network interface in signal communication with anelectronic device associated with a customer; a computer-readable memoryincluding a database storing overdraft protection enrollment informationfor the customer and containing memory storing instructions that, whenexecuted by the at least one processor of the computing machine, causethe computing machine to: a. determine electronically, based on theoverdraft protection enrollment information in the database, whether thecustomer is enrolled in overdraft protection for a financial accountand, if enrolled: b. after a transaction which deducts a monetary amountfrom the financial account of the customer: i. determine, for thefinancial account, an account balance resulting from the transaction,ii. evaluate whether the account balance resulting from the transactionis negative, and iii. responsive to determining that the account balanceresulting from the transaction is negative, automatically transmit, tothe electronic device associated with the customer, a first secureelectronic notification indicating the account balance is negative, thefirst secure electronic notification being securely transmitted upon thedetermining that the account balance resulting from the transaction isnegative; c. during pre-batch processing of the transaction: i.determine, for the financial account, a daily ending balance duringpre-batch processing of the transaction, and ii. responsive todetermining that the daily ending balance is negative, automaticallytransmit, to the electronic device associated with the customer, asecond secure electronic notification indicating the daily endingbalance is negative, the second secure electronic notification beingsecurely transmitted upon the determining that the daily ending balanceis negative; d. batch process the transaction to deduct the monetaryamount from the financial account; e. after batch processing of thetransaction: i. evaluate, for the financial account, whether the accountbalance is negative, and ii. responsive to determining that the accountbalance is negative after batch processing of the transaction,automatically transmit, to the electronic device associated with thecustomer, a third secure electronic notification that the accountbalance is negative; and f. after batch processing and responsive toexpiration of a predetermined period of time after the transaction: i.evaluate, for the financial account, whether the account balance isnegative, and ii. either:
 1. securely assess, to the financial accountand by the computing machine, a fee responsive to determining that theaccount balance is negative at the expiration of the predeterminedperiod of time, or
 2. securely rebate, to the financial account and bythe computing machine, an assessed fee responsive to determining thatthe account balance is not negative at the expiration of the computingmachine.
 2. An information security computing machine for securelyreceiving an electronic customer transaction from an automated clearinghouse, for securely communicating with a customer regarding theelectronic customer transaction, and for securely determining whether tofund the electronic customer transaction, said customer having acustomer electronic communication device, the computing machinecomprising: a. at least one information security processor; b. at leastone information security communication interface communicatively coupledto the at least one information security processor, to the customerelectronic communication device, and to the automated clearing house; c.at least one datastore computer-readable medium communicatively coupledto the at least one information security communication interface, saidat least one datastore computer-readable medium having: i. a firstdatastore sector storing customer identification information to identifythe customer; ii. a second datastore sector storing electronic contactinformation to electronically communicate with the customer electroniccommunication device; iii. a third datastore sector storing electronicaccount identification information to identify an electronic account forthe customer; iv. a fourth datastore sector storing a first indicationof whether the electronic account is enrolled in overdraft protection;v. a fifth datastore sector storing a second indication of whether thecustomer is enrolled to receive electronic account alerts for theelectronic account; vi. a sixth datastore sector storing an accountlimit for the customer; vii. a seventh datastore sector storingtransaction information to identify the electronic customer transactionfor the customer; viii. an eighth datastore sector identifying whetherthe electronic account is overdrawn; ix. computer-readable instructionsthat, when executed by the at least one information security processor,cause the information security computing machine to:
 1. store, by the atleast one information security processor in the first datastore sector,the customer identification information to identify the customer; 2.store, by the at least one information security processor in the seconddatastore sector, the electronic contact information to electronicallycommunicate with the customer electronic communication device;
 3. store,by the at least one information security processor in the thirddatastore sector, the electronic account identification information toidentify the electronic account for the customer;
 4. enroll theelectronic account in said overdraft protection;
 5. store, by the atleast one information security processor in the fourth datastore sector,the first indication that the electronic account is enrolled in saidoverdraft protection;
 6. enroll the customer in said electronic accountalerts for the electronic account;
 7. store, by the at least oneinformation security processor in the fifth datastore sector, the secondindication that the customer is enrolled in said electronic accountalerts for the electronic account;
 8. store, by the at least oneinformation security processor in the sixth datastore, the account limitfor the customer;
 9. receive, by the at least one information securityprocessor from the automated clearing house, the electronic customertransaction for the electronic account;
 10. store, by the at least oneinformation security processor in the seventh datastore sector, theelectronic customer transaction for the electronic account; 11.determine, by the at least one information security processor, anoverdraft condition if the electronic account has insufficient funds tocover the electronic customer transaction and a negative balance for theelectronic account;
 12. transmit, by the at least one informationsecurity processor to the customer electronic communication device, anoverdraft automated electronic transaction alert notifying the customerof the overdraft condition and the negative balance for the electronicaccount;
 13. determine, by the at least one information securityprocessor based on the fourth datastore sector, whether the financialaccount is enrolled in the overdraft protection;
 14. if the financialaccount is enrolled in the overdraft protection: a. store, by the atleast one information security processor in the eighth datastore sector,an indication that the electronic account is overdrawn; b. provide agrace period of time, after said transmission of the overdraft automatedelectronic transaction alert, for the customer to deposit into theelectronic account sufficient funds to bring the electronic account to aminimum balance; c. determine, by the at least one information securityprocessor after expiration of the grace period, whether the electronicaccount is greater than or equal to the minimum balance; d. assess, bythe at least one information security processor after expiration of thegrace period, an overdraft fee to the electronic account if theelectronic account does not at least equal the minimum balance; e.remove, by the at least one information security processor, theindication that the electronic account is overdrawn if the electronicaccount equals at least the minimum balance; f. determine, by the atleast one information security processor, whether the negative balanceis less than the account limit; g. fund, by the at least one informationsecurity processor, the electronic customer transaction if the negativebalance is less than the limit; h. reject, by the at least oneinformation security processor, the electronic customer transaction ifthe negative balance is not less than the limit; and
 15. if thefinancial account is not enrolled in the overdraft protection, reject,by the at least one information security processor, the electroniccustomer transaction.
 3. An information security computing process,implemented on an information security computing machine, for securelydetermining whether to fund an electronic customer transaction for acustomer received from an automated clearing house, the customer havingan electronic account, the process comprising the steps of: a.receiving, by the information security machine from the automatedclearing house, the electronic customer transaction; b. determining, bythe information security machine, whether the electronic account hassufficient funds to cover the electronic customer transaction; c. if theelectronic account has said sufficient funds: i. funding, by theinformation security machine, the electronic customer transaction; ii.debiting, the electronic account by the information security computingmachine, an amount corresponding to the electronic customer transaction;and d. if the electronic account does not have said sufficient funds tocover the electronic customer transaction: i. determining, by theinformation security machine, whether the customer is enrolled inoverdraft protection for the electronic account;
 1. if the customer isenrolled in said overdraft protection: a. determining, by theinformation security machine, a negative overdraft amount; b.determining, by the information security machine, whether the negativeoverdraft amount is less than an overdraft protection limit; c. if thenegative overdraft amount is less than the overdraft protection limit: i. funding, by the information security machine, the electroniccustomer transaction;  ii. debiting, the electronic account by theinformation security machine, the amount corresponding to the electroniccustomer transaction; and  iii. transmitting, by the informationsecurity machine to the customer, at least one notification notifyingthe customer that the electronic account is overdrawn and that a minimumamount must be deposited within a grace period to avoid an overdraftfee;  iv. assessing, by the information security machine, the overdraftfee to the electronic account if a deposit is not made by the customerto the electronic account of at least said minimum amount within thegrace period; d. if the overdraft amount is not less than the overdraftprotection limit, rejecting, by the information security machine, theelectronic customer transaction;
 2. if the customer is not enrolled insaid overdraft protection, rejecting, by the information securitymachine, the electronic customer transaction; and ii. if the customer isnot enrolled in overdraft protection for the electronic account,rejecting, by the information security machine, the electronic customertransaction.
 4. The information security computing process of claim 3wherein the customer has an electronic communication device and the atleast one notification is transmitted electronically from theinformation security computing machine to the electronic communicationdevice.
 5. The information security computing process of claim 3 whereinthe at least one notification is generated electronically by theinformation security computing machine, electronically printed by theinformation security computing machine, and mailed to the customer. 6.The information security computing process of claim 4 wherein the atleast one notification is transmitted electronically from theinformation security computing machine to the electronic communicationdevice by SMS messaging.
 7. The information security computing processof claim 4 wherein the at least one notification is transmittedelectronically from the information security computing machine to theelectronic communication device by email.
 8. The information securitycomputing process of claim 4 wherein the at least one notification istransmitted electronically from the information security computingmachine to the electronic communication device by an automated telephonemessage.
 9. The information security computing process of claim 4wherein the at least one notification is transmitted electronically fromthe information security computing machine to the electroniccommunication device by online banking.
 10. The information securitycomputing process of claim 4 wherein the information security computingmachine is implemented as a distributed system and one or more saidprocess steps are executed in different components of the distributedsystem.
 11. The information security computing process of claim 4wherein the at least one notification is transmitted electronically fromthe information security computing machine to a financial services appon the electronic communication device.
 12. The information securitycomputing process of claim 4 wherein the determination of whether theelectronic account has said sufficient funds to cover the electroniccustomer transaction is determined after a close of business on a dateon which the electronic customer transaction was received from theautomated clearing house.
 13. The information security computing processof claim 4 wherein the determination of whether the electronic accounthas said sufficient funds to cover the electronic customer transactionis determined at the close of business on a day on which the electroniccustomer transaction was received from the automated clearing house. 14.The information security computing process of claim 4 wherein the atleast one notification is transmitted electronically from theinformation security computing machine to the electronic communicationdevice by SMS messaging on a same day as the deposit must be made toavoid the overdraft fee.
 15. The information security computing processof claim 4 wherein the at least one notification is transmittedelectronically from the information security computing machine to theelectronic communication device by email on a same day as the depositmust be made to avoid the overdraft fee.
 16. The information securitycomputing process of claim 4 wherein the at least one notification istransmitted electronically from the information security computingmachine to the electronic communication device by an automated telephonemessage on a same day as the deposit must be made to avoid the overdraftfee.
 17. The information security computing process of claim 4 whereinthe at least one notification is transmitted electronically from theinformation security computing machine to the electronic communicationdevice by online banking on a same day as the deposit must be made toavoid the overdraft fee.
 18. The information security computing processof claim 4 wherein the at least one notification is transmittedelectronically from the information security computing machine to theelectronic communication device by mobile messaging on a same day as thedeposit must be made to avoid the overdraft fee.
 19. The informationsecurity computing process of claim 4 wherein the at least onenotification is transmitted electronically from the information securitycomputing machine to a financial services app on the electroniccommunication device on a same day as the deposit must be made to avoidthe overdraft fee.
 20. The information security computing process ofclaim 4 wherein the grace period expires at midnight in a local timezone for the customer.
 21. The information security computing process ofclaim 4 wherein the determination of whether the electronic account hassaid sufficient funds to cover the electronic customer transaction isdetermined by pre-batch processing of the electronic customertransaction by the information security computing machine.
 22. Theinformation security computing process of claim 21 wherein the graceperiod expires at midnight in a local time zone for the customer. 23.The information security computing process of claim 22 wherein theelectronic account by the information security machine is debited bybatch processing of the electronic customer transaction by theinformation security computing machine.
 24. The information securitycomputing process of claim 23 wherein the batch processing occurs afterthe close of business on a day on which the electronic customertransaction is received by the information security computing machine.25. The information security computing process of claim 23 wherein thedetermination of the negative overdraft amount is determined after thebatch processing of the electronic customer transaction by theinformation security computing machine.
 26. The information securitycomputing process of claim 25 wherein the batch processing occurs aftera close of business on a day on which the electronic customertransaction is received by the information security computing machine.27. The information security computing process of claim 22 wherein thedetermination of the negative overdraft amount is determined in responseto expiration of the grace period.
 28. The information securitycomputing process of claim 22 wherein the determination of the negativeoverdraft amount is determined after the batch processing of theelectronic customer transaction by the information security computingmachine and in response to expiration of the grace period.
 29. Anon-transitory computer-readable medium with computer-executableinstructions stored thereon executed by a processor on an informationsecurity computing machine to securely determine whether to fund anelectronic customer transaction for a customer from an automatedclearing house, the customer having an electronic account and a customerelectronic communication device, said computing machine communicativelycoupled to the customer electronic communication device, saidcomputer-executable instructions comprising: a. receiving instructions,for the information security machine to receive from the automatedclearing house, the electronic customer transaction; b. firstdetermining instructions, for the information security machine, todetermine whether the electronic account has sufficient funds to coverthe electronic customer transaction; c. if the electronic account hassaid sufficient funds: i. first funding instructions, for theinformation security machine, to fund the electronic customertransaction; ii. first debiting instructions, for the informationsecurity computing machine, to debit the electronic account an amountcorresponding to the electronic customer transaction; and d. if theelectronic account does not have said sufficient funds to cover theelectronic customer transaction: i. second determining instructions, forthe information security machine, to determine whether the customer isenrolled in overdraft protection for the electronic account;
 1. if thecustomer is enrolled in said overdraft protection: a. third determininginstructions, for the information security machine, to determine anegative overdraft amount; b. fourth determining instructions, for theinformation security machine, to determine whether the negativeoverdraft amount is less than an overdraft protection limit; c. if thenegative overdraft amount is less than the overdraft protection limit: i. second funding instructions, for the information security machine,to fund the electronic customer transaction;  ii. second debitinginstructions, for the information security computing machine, to debitthe electronic account in the amount corresponding to the electroniccustomer transaction; and  iii. transmitting instructions, for theinformation security machine, to transmit to the customer electroniccommunication device, at least one notification notifying the customerthat the electronic account is overdrawn and that a minimum amount mustbe deposited within a grace period to avoid an overdraft fee;  iv.assessing instructions, for the information security machine, to assessthe overdraft fee to the electronic account if a deposit is not made bythe customer to the electronic account of at least said minimum amountwithin the grace period; d. if the overdraft amount is not less than theoverdraft protection limit, first rejecting instructions, by theinformation security machine, to reject the electronic customertransaction;
 2. if the customer is not enrolled in said overdraftprotection, second rejecting instructions, for the information securitymachine, to reject the electronic customer transaction; and ii. if thecustomer is not enrolled in overdraft protection for the electronicaccount, third rejecting instructions, for the information securitymachine, to reject the electronic customer transaction.
 30. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 29 wherein: a. thedetermination of whether the electronic account has said sufficientfunds to cover the electronic customer transaction is determined bypre-batch processing instructions; and b. and the electronic account isdebited by batch processing instructions.